WASHINGTON -- The United States has condemned North Korea's missile launch as a threat to its neighbors and the international community, a State Department spokesperson said, urging Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.

"The United States condemns the DPRK's missile launch. This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," the spokesperson said in a statement Monday (local time), just hours after the North fired a short-range missile into the East Sea.

"We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue. Our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," the spokesperson added.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

The US Indo-Pacific Command earlier said it was still analyzing the North Korean missile launch, while officials in Seoul offered no details as to whether the missile launched by the North was a ballistic missile.

North Korea is banned from test-firing any type of ballistic missile under UN resolutions.

The latest missile launch came about two weeks after the North test-fired a short-range ballistic missile, which was then condemned by the US State Department as a violation of "multiple UN Security Council resolutions." (Yonhap)